Every month has a birth flower, and most have two: carnation and snowdrop for January, violet and primrose for February, and so on to narcissus and holly for December. The pairs come from tradition, not from any official body, and each flower carries a meaning from the old "language of flowers." The chart below lists all twelve months with their birthstones.
Birth flower chart: all 12 months
| Month | Birth flowers | Traditional meaning | Birthstone |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Carnation, snowdrop | Love and admiration; hope | Garnet |
| February | Violet, primrose | Loyalty and modesty; young love | Amethyst |
| March | Daffodil, jonquil | New beginnings, rebirth | Aquamarine, bloodstone |
| April | Daisy, sweet pea | Innocence; gratitude and farewell | Diamond |
| May | Lily of the valley, hawthorn | Return of happiness; hope | Emerald |
| June | Rose, honeysuckle | Love; devotion | Pearl, alexandrite, moonstone |
| July | Larkspur, water lily | An open heart; purity | Ruby |
| August | Gladiolus, poppy | Strength of character; remembrance | Peridot, spinel, sardonyx |
| September | Aster, morning glory | Patience and love; affection | Sapphire |
| October | Marigold, cosmos | Warmth and remembrance; harmony | Opal, tourmaline |
| November | Chrysanthemum | Friendship and cheerfulness | Topaz, citrine |
| December | Narcissus, holly | Good wishes; protection | Turquoise, tanzanite, zircon |
The meanings are those most often given in American sources such as The Old Farmer's Almanac. To look up one date, enter it here: the tool shows the flowers along with the stone and zodiac sign.
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Winter and spring: January to May
January: carnation and snowdrop. Carnations speak of love and admiration, and color changes the message: pink for affection, white for innocence. The snowdrop, one of the first flowers to break through frozen ground, stands for hope.
February: violet and primrose. Violets mean modesty, loyalty and faithfulness. The primrose, an early woodland flower, is linked with youth and young love.
March: daffodil and jonquil. Both are kinds of narcissus. Arriving with the first warm days, they stand for rebirth, new beginnings and hope.
April: daisy and sweet pea. The daisy is the flower of innocence and true love. The scented sweet pea carries gratitude and a fond goodbye.
May: lily of the valley and hawthorn. Lily of the valley stands for sweetness, humility and the return of happiness; hawthorn blossom for hope.
Summer: June to August
June: rose and honeysuckle. The rose is the best-known symbol of love, with each color adding its own shade of meaning. Honeysuckle stands for happiness and devoted affection.
July: larkspur and water lily. Larkspur, with tall spikes of blue, pink or white, means lightheartedness and an open heart. The water lily stands for purity.
August: gladiolus and poppy. The gladiolus represents strength of character, honor and integrity. The poppy means remembrance and comfort, and also imagination.
Fall and early winter: September to December
September: aster and morning glory. Asters stand for wisdom, patience and love; the morning glory for affection.
October: marigold and cosmos. Marigolds bring warmth and joy and are also flowers of remembrance. Cosmos stands for harmony and peace.
November: chrysanthemum. The only month with a single flower. In the United States the chrysanthemum means friendship, loyalty and cheerfulness.
December: narcissus and holly. The narcissus is the paperwhite, grown indoors in winter; it stands for hope and good wishes. Holly stands for protection and goodwill.
Where birth flowers come from
Birth flowers are an offshoot of the language of flowers, the nineteenth-century fashion for giving each bloom a meaning. According to Denver Botanic Gardens, the idea reached Britain through Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the English ambassador to Turkey, who described in her letters how flowers were used there to send messages. Flower dictionaries followed, and Victorian suitors gave small hand-tied bouquets called tussie-mussies in which every flower, and even its position, carried a meaning.
Assigning a flower to each month was a natural next step, and it was established by the early twentieth century. In 1913 the American gem historian George Frederick Kunz printed a table of "sentiments of the months" in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, with a flower beside each birthstone. Many match today's list: snowdrop for January, primrose for February, daisy for April, hawthorn for May, honeysuckle for June, water lily for July, poppy for August, morning glory for September, chrysanthemum for November and holly for December. Others do not: Kunz gave violet to March and hops to October.
That history helps explain the pairs: where older lists disagreed, modern charts often kept both flowers.
Why meanings differ from list to list
The language of flowers never had a single dictionary. The Victorian meanings recorded by Denver Botanic Gardens include "unrequited love" for the daffodil, "jealousy" for the marigold and "rejection" for a yellow carnation, a long way from the cheerful readings on a modern birthday chart.
Lists differ by place as well. The Old Farmer's Almanac notes that regional and cultural traditions shaped the lists over time, which is why a chart published elsewhere may not match this one.
So read every meaning with a light touch. A birth flower says something kind about a date; it does not describe a person's character or future.
How to use birth flowers as a gift
- A bouquet built around the flower. Roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, gladioli and asters are easy to find in season.
- A plant or bulbs. Daffodils, paperwhites, primroses and marigolds can be given in pots or as bulbs to plant.
- A print or pressed flower for the months whose flowers are rarely sold cut, such as hawthorn, water lily and morning glory.
- Flower and stone together. Pair the flower with the month's gem: red carnations with garnet, violets with amethyst, white roses with pearls. The full stone list is in our guide to birthstones by month.
- A family bouquet with one stem for each person's birth month.